Birds Guide

Bushshrikes
Black-headed Gonolek
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata   Class: Aves   Order: Passeriformes   Family: Malaconotidae
Genera
Nilaus Dryoscopus Tchagra Laniarius Rhodophoneus Telophorus Malaconotus

The bushshrikes are smallish passerine bird species. They were formerly classed with the true Shrikes in the family Laniidae, but are now considered sufficiently distinctive to be separated from that group as the family Malaconotidae.

This is an African group of species which are found in scrub or open woodland. They are similar in habits to shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch on a bush. Although similar in build to the shrikes, these tend to be either colourful species or largely black; some species are quite secretive.

Some bushshrikes have flamboyant displays. The male puffbacks puff out the loose feathers on their rump and lower back, to look almost ball-like.

These are mainly insectivorous forest or scrub birds. Up to four eggs are laid in a cup nest in a tree.

List of species in taxonomic order

• Brubru, Nilaus afer
  Northern Puffback, Dryoscopus gambensis
  Pringle's Puffback, Dryoscopus pringlii
  Black-backed Puffback, Dryoscopus cubla
  Red-eyed Puffback, Dryoscopus senegalensis
  Pink-footed Puffback, Dryoscopus angolensis
  Large-billed Puffback, Dryoscopus sabini
  Marsh Tchagra, Tchagra minuta
  Black-crowned Tchagra, Tchagra senegala
  Brown-crowned Tchagra, Tchagra australis
  Three-streaked Tchagra, Tchagra jamesi
  Southern Tchagra, Tchagra tchagra
  Red-naped Bushshrike, Laniarius ruficeps
  Luehder's Bushshrike, Laniarius luehderi
  Bulo Burti Boubou, Laniarius liberatus
  Turati's Boubou, Laniarius turatii
  Tropical Boubou, Laniarius aethiopicus
  Gabon Boubou, Laniarius bicolor
  Southern Boubou, Laniarius ferrugineus
  Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Laniarius barbarus
  Black-headed Gonolek, Laniarius erythrogaster
  Crimson-breasted Gonolek, Laniarius atrococcineus
  Papyrus Gonolek, Laniarius mufumbiri
  Yellow-breasted Boubou, Laniarius atroflavus
  Slate-colored Boubou, Laniarius funebris
  Sooty Boubou, Laniarius leucorhynchus
  Fuelleborn's Boubou, Laniarius fuelleborni
  Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Rhodophoneus cruentus
  Bokmakierie, Telophorus zeylonus
  Grey-green Bushshrike, Telophorus bocagei
  Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike, Telophorus sulfureopectus
  Olive Bushshrike, Telophorus olivaceus
  Many-colored Bushshrike, Telophorus multicolor
  Black-fronted Bushshrike, Telophorus nigrifrons
  Mt. Kupe Bushshrike, Telophorus kupeensis
  Four-colored Bushshrike, Telophorus viridis
  Doherty's Bushshrike, Telophorus dohertyi
  Fiery-breasted Bushshrike, Malaconotus cruentus
  Lagden's Bushshrike, Malaconotus lagdeni
  Green-breasted Bushshrike, Malaconotus gladiator
  Grey-headed Bushshrike, Malaconotus blanchoti
  Monteiro's Bushshrike, Malaconotus monteiri
  Uluguru Bushshrike, Malaconotus alius

External links

• Bushshrike videos on the Internet Bird Collection